Streusel Coffee Cake

I ruined this cake the first time I tried to make it. Was my face red? Like a cooked lobster’s, honey. But this one’s terrific.

Streusel Coffee Cake:

I came up with this recipe one day when I was feeling creative. A “streusel” topping is one that incorporates flour, butter or margarine, sugar, and possibly nuts. I hope you’ll enjoy this coffee cake as much as Ron and I do. As with most sweets, we have a little taste and tuck it into the freezer to avoid (or postpone) temptation!

To Prepare the Cake:

1 c. sour cream

1 tsp. baking soda

½ c. shortening

1 c. granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp. vanilla 

1-¾ c. all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

¼ tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 350 deg. F. In a small bowl, thoroughly combine sour cream and baking soda. Set aside. Using electric mixer, blend shortening and sugar until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add eggs and vanilla, continuing to beat. Sift dry ingredients together. Beating well after each addition, add a third of flour mixture to batter in bowl, followed by half of sour cream mixture, another third of flour mixture, the remaining sour cream mixture, and the remaining flour. Pour batter into greased and floured 8x8-inch square pan. Set briefly aside and prepare cinnamon-sugar mixture. 

To Prepare the Cinnamon-Sugar Mixture:

2 tsp. granulated sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon 

Combine well, sprinkling randomly over cake. Run a clean, blunt knife through the cinnamon-sugar mixture in a “swirl” pattern three or four times, so that a ribbon of cinnamon-sugar intermingles with the batter. Set cake briefly aside, again.

To Prepare the Streusel Topping:

1 c. coarsely chopped hazelnuts (or pecans or walnuts)

3 tbsp. granulated sugar

1 tbsp. cinnamon 

¼ c. butter or margarine

¼ c. all-purpose flour

Combine remaining ingredients, rubbing together with clean fingers until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add chopped nuts, combining well. Sprinkle streusel topping liberally over cake batter. Bake 60-to-65 min. or until cake tests done. Serve warm, with a lightly sweetened dollop of softly whipped cream.